A great weekend and blisters to show for it

You have to love the weather in Southern California. It is almost always perfect and you learn to count on it to get your outdoor activities done. This weekend was no exception. It was beautiful, mild and sunny with a slight breeze. But that is where the easy streak ended.

Best laid plans of mice and men... Let's start with the dumpster delivery. Turns out that a 4 cubic yard dumpster is not big enough to hold my excavated dirt. Oh no I need a 16 foot long container called a "Low Boy". Fine, so be it. "Please deliver it on Friday afternoon for a Saturday of digging." Will do, says the man on the other end of the line, only to call me on Friday morning to say that there was a schedule change and it will be delivered between 9-11 AM. Take it or leave it. Great, I don't like it but go with the flow and I get a chance to start digging early.

After the digging comes the gravel and framing of the foundation. A two hour trip to Home Depot and I have all the pieces of the puzzle together to finish the next step. What I didn't anticipate was the time it would take to frame the small 7x10 patch. I am placing the whole outdoor kitchen and oven on the edge of my property right up to the fence. That makes it difficult to access and maneuver around in it. The other thing I found out is that I have slope to deal with. It is ever so slight but when you use a level and check on your 90 degree corners you notice it.
I also had several surprises waiting for me under the dirt line. The fence post and patio foundation were in the way. I needed to chisel several inches of concrete away to assure a straight line for the new foundation.
Next was the rebar and wire mesh to provide the foundation with solid anchors. I wired three 4x7 pieces of mesh together and then attached the rebar to that. Since I needed to create a gravel and sand bed first I hung the mesh on the fence which allowed me to work standing up. I had purchased 1000 lbs of sand and gravel at Home Depot in 50 lbs bags. It was enough to cover the excavated area and make it level. Then I unhooked the wire mesh from the fence and dropped it on top of the sand.

Total time for this step was 11 hours of digging, framing and finish work over two days. Plus 2 hours at Home Depot. My left hand has two blisters. I almost poked my eye out on a branch from a bush right next to the site. And finally I have a 13 inch gash down my shin bone. I have no idea how that happened but when I looked down at my leg earlier today, there it was bleeding and all.

Next week my friend Frank will come over to work on the power and gas lines. He will also do the cement pour for me since it is almost 2 yards of cement and and all three things are above my level of expertise... Well, I can't smell the pizza yet but I am well on my way. Feels good to finally have started with the physical part of the project.

Let the dig begin

So here I am two weeks into my project and I am already delayed by one month. I waited too long to pull the trigger with the contractor and he is now booked for the month of May. Oh well, that gives me the chance to start on my own after all.
The wife and kid are being sent out of town next weekend which gives me a grand total of 3 days for the foundation dig. 10 x 7 feet, 6" deep means I have to dig up more than a cubic yard of dirt and dispose of it. The extra waste bin has been ordered and I hope that 3 days is enough time to get it done.
The second step will be the lay out of the foundation. I have purchased several 2x4's and stakes to affix a rectangular form for the concrete to be poured into. Sand and metal mesh are also on hand to make sure the foundation is sturdy and will last forever.
A contractor friend of mine asked if I wanted to park a tank on top of the foundation or why I wanted to go 8" deep. So I consulted all my research again and found it to be varied and for a first timer, confusing. Some websites stress that you need at least 8 to 10" foundations to accommodate the weight of the oven. (granted some of them are 2000 lbs +) Others barely mention the foundation and say 3-4 inches are plenty. So I have made a compromise with myself. I will dig 6" deep, pour a gravel base and stake out a metal mesh and pour a 4" deep slab.

On another note. The wife has caught the outdoor kitchen fever now. While my first conversation with her was all about cost, the need of a pizza oven in the yard in the first place and what a waste this might all be, she bought me a book about outdoor kitchens for my birthday. All of a sudden she has design ideas and wants the AC unit moved. We should build it like this or that and do it this color or that. We need to move this bush or that one and she won't mind if this plant dies. It's actually a lot of fun having an ally in her to be able to discuss the details. But it is also very dangerous because now spending money is easier. I find that two accommodate two opinions the compromise often means to spend twice as much. Maybe I let her pick the colors and finish tile and I pick the hardware and ovens.

And one last thing I learned these past couple of days. Until the dig is finished, my dog Matilda is using the plot to mark her territory. I cleared the area of its plants and she promptly pooped right in the middle of it. Oh well, I guess it means one more step before I can make my own pizzas